Best way to drill hoes in metal.

Borrow a mag drill.

WHat is a mag drill?

Agreed. Buddy with a mag drill.

It's a small light but powerful drill press mounted on a magnetic base.

To drill a hole in your 3x3" square tube, start by laying out the hole and centerpunching it. With the magnet off, slide the drill into position until the tit on the end of the cutter locates in your centerpunch, then click on the magnet. Then apply coolant and drill the hole. To eject the slug, fully retract the spindle.

There are several excellent brands of mag drills. I like Ernie's Jancy Slugger No. 101; it's very light. I also like Hougen drills - they are very well designed. I own a Steelmax mag drill, which I bought because it was cheap, but it works well and has a 2MT tapered spindle and comes with a Weldon shank adapter. If I want to use a drill bit (as opposed to a rotabroach-type cutter) I can just pop in a drill chuck with a 2MT shank. I think Milwaukee mag drills are too heavy.

Grant Erwin Tinyisland Forge Kirkland, Washington

How much are they?

You know the old saying, "If you have to ask the price...."

They are NOT cheap. Look into borrowing one from a friend or renting one.

You may be able to find one cheaper, but these are $900 - $1300 range. Harbor Freight probably won't have them, but may. If so expect several hundred dollars anyway, ? $300 - $500.

Call an equipment rental place, if needed - or get someone else to drill them for you.

Al

What wall thickness?

Unless it is really thick I am going to disagree with the mag-base suggestion. They do not hold well to thin stuff. I had a mag-base come after me once:-( Very thin sheet metal on top of a frame and I was using a 6 inch hole saw...

If you do borrow / rent one clamp a piece of (same size) tubing on each side of the one you are drilling so the base is not hanging over. Been a few years but I remember the bases being wider than 3 inches.

Buy a $50 cheap chinese benchtop drill press (or get a real drill press off of eBay or craigslist, if you can afford to wait for a good deal). If you can't get the metal to the workbench, try c-clamping the drill press base or table to the metal instead.

You don't say anything about needed accuracy. If you don't need a lot of precision, you could also use a good hand drill (I'd recommend a

1/2" drill, which will probably still cost you about $50) and step drill these holes. Start off with something small, like 3/16 or so, then drill with the size you need. Ease up on the pressure when you're almost through, or the drill will catch, and the 1/2" electric drills can throw you around a bit (use two hands). I've done holes like this with a 3/8" drill, but it gets messy fast, since you have to go up drill sizes in smaller increments and the drills don't cut as cleanly when you do that--the holes can end up out of round or out of position fairly easily. This will go faster if you use cutting oil, but is still possible without. If you don't already have the necessary twist drill bits new ones in the larger sizes can get pricy fast, it may actually be cheaper to buy a good hole saw.

And last but not least, you could try eBay for a "cole drill". This is a non-motorized hand powered drill which clamps onto the metal being drilled, and has a nut that you turn as it drills to keep drill pressure on the bit as you turn the crank. It probably won't take much longer than using a 1/2" electric drill (though I wouldn't use it with a hole saw). --Glenn Lyford

That hole saw might be less likely to grab than the bit and thus less likely to spin him around like a rag doll! :-) Those low speed high torque drills can hurt a big strong fellow who doesn't handle it exactly right!